As talks between the United States and Iran go on in Pakistan, US President Donald Trump said that it makes “no difference to him” whether the two sides agree on a deal or not. He reiterated his claim that the US has already “won”.
“We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily… Whether we make a deal or not, it makes no difference to me — and the reason is because we’ve won, whether you listen to the Fake News or not,” he said while talking to the media.
He added that the US has defeated Iran’s navy, air force, radar systems and killed its leaders.
Also read: ‘Excessive demands’, ‘Strait of Hormuz’: Inside US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan
“Think of it, we have defeated their navy, we have defeated their air force, we defeated their entire aircraft, we defeated their radar, we defeated their leaders, their leaders are all dead. And now, what we do is we open up the Strait of Hormuz even though we don’t use it because we have a lot of other countries in the world that do use it, that are either afraid or weak or cheap, I don’t know what it is, but we were not helped by NATO, that I can tell you,” the US President said.
A warning to China
Trump also warned China against helping Iran amid the ongoing West Asia conflict which is under a two-week ceasefire as the US and Iran negotiated a sustainable peace agreement.
When asked about the reports of China preparing to ship weapons to Iran, Trump said, “If China does that, China is gonna have big problems.”
This comes after CNN reported citing three people familiar with the matter that according to US intelligence, China is preparing to send new air defence systems to Iran in a matter of a few weeks.
The timing of this move is crucial as Trump is scheduled to visit China next month to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The report also added that in an attempt to mask the origin of the shipment to Iran, China may route them via third countries, according to two sources.
Fresh rounds of negotiations underway in Pakistan
The negotiations between Iran and the United States continued well beyond midnight in Pakistan as the two sides try to strike a deal but have not achieved any breakthrough so far. A major reason behind a reported stalemate is control over the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Iran’s Fars news agency, the United States made “unacceptable demands” on several issues during the war. “The US is making excessive demands regarding the Strait… the US has also made unacceptable demands on several other issues,” it said.
However, according to a Pakistani official, the talks were “progressing in the right direction” after two rounds, reported news agency AFP.
